Including final exam week, there are only five weeks left of this semester! Wow! It seems that we were just all gathering at convocation, prepping for classes and…getting IDPs started for this academic year. And now, here we are, just weeks away from the chaos of final projects, exams and grades, and of course, Winter Break.

Speaking of Winter Break, wouldn’t it be great to actually use Winter Break as a break?! Of course it would…so make that happen. Besides finishing the semester strong with your courses, if you are Probationary faculty, then you know you have your IDP to work on as well. Remember, the IDP is an on-going project that you should be working on throughout the academic year. Don’t put it off until Winter Break; continue working on it now to be done with the entries for this semester before December 18. You can do it!

As a reminder to everyone, the initial draft of the IDP should be looking good by the time we head off to break–evaluations, observations, and any professional growth and service should all have specific details about the activity and thoughtful reflection about the value of the activity already complete. If you have all of this done before heading off to break, then you can rest and relax comfortably knowing that you are ready to “submit” the first draft of the IDP to your PAR Team by the deadline (end of Friday of Spring accountability week–1/15/16). You can do it!

For all the PAR mentors, check in on your mentees a couple of times between now and the end of the semester. PAR mentor relationships are mentee-driven, but sometimes it is hard to ask for help (especially when some might feel like they are already asking for too much). You can do it!

And finally, don’t forget about the contest to meet the most new Residential faculty! We have had some great submissions already, but it is still anyone’s game!

One last time…